The examination is the
fundamental part of all rheumatology.The
process is more important than blood tests or X-rays, all of which might
be completely normal in the face of abnormality or disease.

Undressing
the patient

Therefore do not be surprised
if your doc might insist on you getting undressed. I usually request
female patients to take their clothes off except bra and panty and put a
gown on - open to the back. If I feel it is relevant, I may ask a patient
to remove the bra, in order to perform a breast examination to exclude
breast malignancy. Breast malignancy is a potential cause of secondary
bone cancer, and not examining the breasts may be a serious omission. In
addition there are issues relating to hormone therapy, that may require
breast examination.

Maintain
dignity

Once undressed the patient
MUST be properly covered - with gown (for females) and covered with a
sheet.

Examination of the Ear, nose,
throat and lungs.
Examination of the heart.
Examination of the abdomen.
Examination of the neurological system - A VITAL examination.
Examination of the urine.

Muscle/joint
examination

Clearly this is the most
important aspect of the examination, but does not exclude the doctor from
the full general and system examinations. All the joints should be
systematically examined and charted.

We examine ALL the joints.
We apply a principal of LOOK, FEEL and MOVE.

Inspection of the joints for
obvious swelling.
Inspection and charting of deformities.

Feeling
the joints

One by one - we examine each
joint lining - for:
Swelling of the soft tissues. This is a doughy feel and it is this
softness that is searched for - and reflects swelling of the lining of the
joints - the synovium.
Damage is also felt as a rough or crackling feeling known as crepitus.
Patients often complain that they can hear their joints cracking on
movement. It is for this that damage must be excluded by feeling for
crepitus.

Moving
the joints

We take each joint through
it's range of movement. Assessment is made of damage and contracture, as
well as induction and reproduction of pain.

We also feel for crepitus
on movement of the joints.

Active
movement - is tested by making the patient move the joint through
it's range of movement. This utilises joint and the soft tissue, and
therefore acts as a screen for a musculoskeletal problem.

Passive
movement - is movement WITHOUT the patient contracting the muscles.
The movement is conducted without patient assistance. If pain is induced -
then the problem is NOT muscle or soft tissue origin, but lies within the
joint itself

Resisted
movement - is movement of the limb or joint in a specific direction
upon request and against the resistance of the examiner. This therefore
makes the patient contract a specified muscle structure. It is therefore
the best test of disease of the soft tissue around the joint - such as
muscles.

Once the
examination is concluded, the suspicions obtained by the history, are
confirmed or further suspected, and a diagnosis or potential diagnosis
should already have been made by the doctor. A list of potential diagnoses
- the differential diagnosis, should already be in the mind of the doctor,
and it is only to confirm or assist in coming to a definitive diagnosis,
that blood tests or X-rays may be requested.